I have been planning our vacation to Colorado for the past few months. I feel it's always better to get an early start on it, even if it's after Labor Day. I just found out we have 2 weeks plus 2 days which is great but now I have to figure out how much more time at each town and where to stay. We are coming from So. Calif and travelling through Arizona to get to Colorado. The first night would be in Arizona and then here is where I am in a bit of bind. Orginally it was to be 2 nights in Cortez rather than Durango. That way we could go to Mesa Verde and not have too much driving. Should we stay in the park itself or just stay in Cortez? I know Durango would be farther. We were planning 2 nights in Durango and then 2 nights in Ouray. That way we could visit some of the towns and end up in Telluride. We had no plans to stay in Telluride for a day. I wonder if that could be done. After Colorado, we would go to Moab for 1 day and then home. Too little time or not? Also thought about the Holiday Inn Express in Cortez. Any other places to stay that someone could recommend in the area? Thanks!

Hi Froggy,

If it were me, I would want to stay IN Mesa Verde rather than Cortez. Cortez isn't much of a town IMO.

I would also much rather stay in Telluride than Durgano. Telluride is beautiful!

I don't get 1 day in Moab. Have you already visited there? Moab really needs a minimum of 3 days.

Hope this helps!

If you are going to Mesa Verde, stay IN Mesa Verde as the other poster said. You will want the whole day there and it is just the way to do it.

Your answers to my post have made me rethink our trip. I like the idea of staying in Mesa Verde and see that the Far View has a bed and breakfast deal that is very affordable. I think we will stay there for 3 days and then drive on to Telluride and stay there for 2 days. Maybe on the way, stop and see Durango and go up to Ouray. The reason that we are going back through to Moab is that my husband doesn't want to go back the way we drove up. I think we will do 2 days there and then head home. Thanks for all the input. It really helps for someone who has never been to that area before. By the way, am I missing anything doing our trip this way? We do have 10 days for this vacation and want to see as much as possible. Thanks again!

I just got back from a similar trip. Heartily recommend staying in Mesa Verde but I think 3 nights might be more than you want or need. Check and see if Weatherhill Mesa road is open when you'll be there. Even if it is, but especially if it's not, 2 nights which will give you a day and 1/2 at Mesa Verde should be sufficient unless you are really into the pueblo culture--there are limited hiking trails available.

We stayed in Ouray and were glad we did. Went to Telluride but as ski season had ended and summer tourist season hadn't started the town was very dead--very few restaurants open. Again, check your timing.

I'd plan more time in Moab. It's a neat town with easy access to 2 wonderful national (Canyonlands and Arches) and one state park not to be missed, Dead Horse Point. I found the hiking trails there more accessible, meaning some were fairly level. Try to work the Needles District of Canyonlands into your drive to or from Moab--it is very different from the Island in the Sky and was one of our favorite stops. We did 4 mights in Moab and could have easily spent more thime there.

Do a search on my name if you want to read my trip report.

Durango is a neat town. We spent a splurge night at the Strater Hotel, and it was lovely. You might visit Durango between Mesa Verde and your drive over Red Mountain Pass--which was beautiful but a little scary the first week of May with snow all over the evergreens and the pull-offs. The road was just wet, however.

We stopped in Silverton for a coffee break and went through Ouray, but not to Telluride, on our way to pick up my niece at the Gunnison airport.

Hi again Froggy,

I do agree with Ruth. 2 nights, 1 1/2 days in Mesa Verde is plenty. 2 days in Moab is not nearly enough. I would highly recommend that you alot as much of your time as possible in the Moab area.

Thanks for all the imput. I think the advice about staying 2 nights in Mesa Verde really helps in my planning. We have never been to that area and it's good to hear from people who have travelled there. Thanks RuthMc for your advice. I read your trip report and it sounds like what you did is exactly what we should do. We are going to be there after Labor Day. I think we'll stay in Ouray and just visit Telluride since summer will be over and from what I gather the town might not have too much happening then. We'll add 2 days to Moab which should round it out very nicely.

froggy - I just typed a whole LONG reply with lots of suggestions etc [I live in area] and lost the entire reply!

I will re-do it shortly when I am not so tired as to hit the X when I didn't mean to!

Long story short, I think you need to look at the route you want to take. I think you might not quite have it understood. Here's a map.

http://www.telluridevisitorguide.com.../day-trips.asp

Lots more ideas to come.

DebitNM: Thanks for the input. As I said before, it's good to get information from people who live in the area. We are totally unfamiliar with that part of Colorado. I look forward to any thing you can tell me that would help make our vacation a winner.

Froggy, you've got some very knowledgeable posters who know a lot about the area helping you, as they helped me plan our recent trip. What it sounds like to me (as strictly a visitor to the area) would work for you is a big loop from your the area of your first night in Arizona, going to Mesa Verde, through Durango up to Ouray. Then to Moab by either going north to Montrose and Grand Junction to pick up I-70 to Rt. 128 to Moab or around by Telluride on Rts. 62 & 145 to Delores to Moab. Or there might be alternative routes to Moab that I haven't thought about--I'll leave that to the area experts. But I will repeat, try to work in 1/2 day on our way to or from Moab to spend in the Needles. We left Cortez around 9:30 (I think) after doing laundry, went to Needles and didn't get to Moab until 5-5:30. And that meant not doing everything we would have like to in Needles. It's a long drive in & out from the main highway, so it takes more time that you'd think. So we had less than 3 hours in the park.

Hi again Froggy,

As Ruth points out, if you plan to stay in Ouray and visit Telluride for the day, you are going to be doing a long backtracking drive. Study your map in detail and make your trip an efficient loop. The roads in the area are windy and slow for the most part. Also, the scenery will require photo ops!

Ruth and Dayle: Thanks for all the information. I have been studying the map of Colorado and looking at the routes you mentioned. We will be driving the 70 to Moab. I know we don't want to spend time driving back and forth if the roads are windy. Here is what I came up with as an alternative to our first plan. We would stop in Flagstaff first, then 2 nights in Mesa Verde. Drive onto Ouray for 2 nights, maybe stay in Montrose one night before going to Moab. Then it would be 2 or 3 nights in Moab. I did want to fit in Telluride somewhere but maybe not this trip. I do want to say that we are not familiar with the area and do appreciate any input. We have 2 weeks to do this which includes our drive time of 2 days up and 2 days back.

I forgot to add that I don't want to miss anything that we should be visiting. If I have skipped anything that is really great, please let me know.

Froggy,

I would definitely stay in Telluride rather than Montrose on your way to Moab!

Froggy, here's what Mapquest offers for driving from Ouray to Moab:

1: Start out going NORTHWEST on MAIN ST / US-550 toward 7TH AVE. Continue to follow US-550. 10.1 miles Map 2: Turn LEFT onto CO-62 / MAIN ST. Continue to follow CO-62. 23.3 miles Map 3: CO-62 becomes CO-145. 38.6 miles Map 4: Turn LEFT onto CO-90 (Crossing into UTAH). 33.8 miles Map 5: CO-90 becomes UT-46. 20.6 miles Map 6: Turn RIGHT to stay on UT-46. 0.9 miles Map 7: Turn RIGHT onto US-191. 22.3 miles Map 8: Turn RIGHT onto E CENTER ST. <0.1 miles Map 9: End at Moab, UT US Map Total Est. Time: 3 hours, 11 minutes

So it's only about 3 hours using this route. I don't see any point in staying in Montrose, which is only about an hour from Ouray. If you take the Mapquest route, you can detour up to Telluride for a short visit. That gives you the extra night Moab if you want or if Telluride will be active, you can spend a night there. I'm kind of with Dayle on this, but we only drove through Montrose. But if you do stay there, you'd have to visit the Black Canyon.

Ruth: Thanks so much for the directions. I have been looking at the map of Colorado for ways to make it through to Telluride and still not miss Ouray. My husband is really looking forward to seeing it. So this is what I have come up with. We are going to spend 2 nights in Mesa Verde and 2 nights in Ouray. Then from Ouray we are going to have one night in Telluride. Your directions are really helpful for that part of the trip. That way we will have 3 days in Moab to visit both parks in the area. Hopefully this will work out and we'll be able see enough and not be hurried. Thanks again for all the help. It's really appreciated.

If you are looking for a cool way to get between Ouray and Telluride, I would recommend Ophir Pass if you have a 4WD vehicle. It's a pretty mellow road, I've done it in my Outback, but coming down the steep grade was a bit rough on my brakes. It's a beautiful pass and a nice way to connect the two towns without driving all the way around the mountains.

Also, if you are looking for a place to stay in telluride, I've found that www.telluride.com has a good variety of places to choose from, check 'em out!

Froggy,

One thing that hasn't been mentioned. Moab in the summer will be very hot, somewhere at or above 100 degrees. You won't want to spend much time outside your air conditioned car much less hiking unless you get up very early. If you do stay in Montrose you should make the 13 mile drive east to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park which is a very neat spot that can be seen in a few hours.

Beanman
Palisade, Co

Thanks to all who have given advice on our trip. We finally have it all figured out. We are spending 2 nights in Mesa Verde, one night in Durango, 2 nights in Ouray, one night in Telluride and then the last night in Cortez. That's more than enought for this vacation. We did decide to skip Moab this time and go in the early spring nxt year. The weather was one of our considerations on not going there this time. Thanks again.